Man arrested in Visalia on carjacking, kidnapping charges

A Visalia man was arrested Friday on charges of carjacking and kidnapping, the Visalia Police Department said.

On Aug. 10, at 9:40 p.m., a woman was sitting in her vehicle near Conyer Avenue and Tulare Street in Visalia when she was approached by a male suspect and held at gunpoint, police said.

The suspect, identified as Lazarus Marquez, took the woman’s purse and phone before climbing into the front seat, forcing her into the backseat.

Marquez then drove the woman nearly 10 miles outside of Visalia, near Road 140 and Avenue 248, before dropping her off. The vehicle was recovered later that day near Bakersfield, but police were unable to locate Marquez until a traffic stop Friday near Court Street and Walnut Avenue in Visalia ended in his arrest.

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